Even if the world is your enemy
by tears of the soul
Summary: AU. Shizuru is a member of the group that fights against the rule of the Obsidian Lord. However Shizuru finds her world spinning when her unit partner, Natsuki joins the other side.
1. Chapter 1

Even if the world is your enemy

Chapter 1: Goodbye

A/N: What, another new story? It seems so, I just felt like I needed some angst and action. Don't worry, the other stories are still in progress, just need to gather my thoughts^^. Please enjoy this one

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The orphan-like enemies surrounded them in large numbers, each one ready to strike the unsuspecting victims.

'Darn it! We were caught off-guard!'

An orange haired girl shouted in an irritated voice. At her hands there were large gold rings that were burning with a red fire. She parried an attack and hit the monster with her rings which made the enemy pushed back knocking a few other monsters that were behind it. A girl with spiky black haired jumped to her side and held her ridiculously large black sword tightly in a fighting stance.

'Don't worry Mai! I have your back!'

'Thank you Mikoto!' Answered the orange haired girl with a smile, relieved that she had her back protected.

'Ara, ara, how sweet.'

A kyoto-ben voice rang out. The owner of the voice was also busy fending off enemies skillfully using a fine long red naginata that had magically appeared out of nowhere.

'As much as I like a good fight, this is getting tiring. Can anyone see the one summoning these things, they can't be far away.'

'I'll look for him, Shizuru.' Mai magically summoned gold rings at each of her feet which became ablaze and she hovered into the sky. She scanned the surrounding before she noticed some bright green sparkles in the distance.

'I see it! Mikoto, go! Around 30 meters south, on top of that tree!'

The girl called Mikoto sprinted towards the tree and found her target. A pink-haired girl was busy blowing on a flute and was surrounded by bright green sparks, the energy needed to summon the creatures that were attacking the girls. Mikoto was ready to strike at the girl when she was suddenly hit with something cold and sharp that caused her to suddenly be thrown to a nearby tree.

Mikoto smashed into the tree causing a large dent in the tree trunk. She staggered to her feet and checked her wound. There was a large ice shard stuck in her right leg and blood was oozing out. She tried to move but found herself glued to the floor. Bewildered, she checked the floor and finally noticed that the ground had turned to ice, her own feet were trapped in the thick layer of ice.

'Ice?'

By now the other two girls had managed to fight their way to the wounded girl.

'Mikoto, are you alright?' Shouted Mai very worried about the younger girl.

'I can't move Mai!'

Shizuru looked at the scene and a horrible feeling was starting to grow in her stomach.

'_Since when has the enemy had an ice user?'_ She thought. She looked at the summoner and noticed she wasn't alone, standing beside the red-haired girl was another girl dressed in a black jacket and black jeans. Raven colored hair flew slowly as the wind blew.

'N..Natsuki?'

The raven-haired girl did not respond but stared at the girls with indifference in her green eyes. Her face was emotionless, and seemed very cold. She cocked her elemental gun and prepared to aim again.

A shot was fired and Mai obstructed a fire shield against the array of ice shards.

'Why is she shooting at us!?' Mai shouted as loud as she could to Shizuru as she maintained the shield. More shots were rained down on the shield and Mai fought hard to hold on

'How do I know…' The brunette answered. Shizuru was confused as well. Why was her partner was shooting at them?

'I'll tell you why,' the girl with pink hair answered, putting down her flute. 'She has joined our side. Isn't that obvious?' The pink-haired girl laughed wickedly.

'Natsuki, is this true? Answer me!' Shizuru shouted to Natsuki who had stopped shooting.

'I don't have to answer to you or anyone any more.' The green eyed girl answered coldly. She turned to the other girl and asked, 'how much longer are you going to play? Finish them.'

Shizuru was devastated hearing such words from her partner. She stood still, mouth agape trying to make sense of the situation. She did not realize that an orphan had snuck behind her until the last minute and a shot had barely missed her and hit the monster squarely in face before disappearing into green sparks.

Shizuru stared at Natsuki with adoration that Natsuki saved her but was faced with an angry but flushed Natsuki.

'I won't do that again.'

The pink haired girl laughed loudly.

'You still can't let go of her, how admirable, what a *tsundere.'

'You were testing me, weren't you…' Natsuki huffed and turned away, her back facing Shizuru.

'It doesn't matter; you've vowed your loyalty to us anyway. This is just an announcement to these people.' The pink haired girl replied smirking.

'Natsuki is now ours; we will make our move in no time. The Obsidian Lord will rule supreme.' She clicked her hands and the remaining orphans began to attack aggressively. Shizuru and Mai found themselves busy fending off the enemy as well as trying to break the ice the entrapped Mikoto's leg.

'Natsuki, why are you with these people?' Shizuru screamed trying to attract the blue haired girl's attention.

'Goodbye Shizuru.' The girl replied with a sad look on her face before disappearing into the night with the pink haired girl.

'NATSUKI!!!!

To be continued…

*tsundere : a Japanese term used to describe a person who is rough and cold at the surface but is actually a softie at heart. They are really mean to the one they like, sometimes intentionally or not. (my own definition XD)

A/N: How is it? Please give your opinions


	2. Chapter 2

Even if the world is your enemy

Chapter 2: Children of the First District Massacre

A/N: I'm a terrible procrastinator. I got terribly lazy and have not updated my other stories, I'm sorry. I might get motivated if people PM me and tell me to update sooner, nicely I hope, other than that, there is not much hope that the stories will get updated soon. I wrote this chapter on a whim, I hope it's not too bad.

_2 years ago__…_

Shizuru knocked on the wooden door of her superior officer, and entered without waiting for a reply. As she entered the room, she noticed there was an unfamiliar person already in the room. She took a quick look at the new person and found her heart beating rapidly at the beauty of the young girl in front of her. The young girl with raven hair did not turn to look at her, instead simply continued to sit in the chair in front of the desk and look outside the window. Shizuru sat at the chair beside the raven haired girl and waited for the owner of the room to return. She was used to being called to the office and having to wait, so she sat there patiently and wondered about the person next to her.

The door opened and a brunette in her late twenties entered the room with a few folders in her hands.

"Ah Shizuru, it's nice to see you. How are you doing? I hope you've recovered from your injuries."

"Ara, Sugiura-han, a shot or two will never do much more than graze me. You people fuss too much about me. Though, I liked the short leave I was given, I managed to finish a few books that I was dying to read."

"Good to know that you spent your leave well. I'm even happier to know that I didn't lose one our best agents, even if it was as you say a small wound. Being cautious is always good."

The brunette glanced at the other girl in the room and coughed lightly before sitting up in her chair.

"Okay, well, since you haven't been around much, I bet you haven't met your replacement. Meet Kuga Natsuki, Shizuru. She took over your workload while you were rehabilitation"

The young girl slowly looked away from the window when her name was called and faced her senior. A bored expression was on her face as she stared Shizuru in the face.

"This…this was my replacement? She's such a young girl, barely twenty…tell me you are joking!"

Shizuru was surprised to find out that the young girl in front of her was a full-fledged agent, carrying out dangerous missions for the agency. Usually agents were trained for a long time, for years before allowed to rise to be a full-fledged agent. Even the youngest agent that she knew was 21. This girl looked so much younger. The oldest woman in the room smiled at Shizuru's outburst.

"Oh, how rare to see you surprised Shizuru. I'm proud to reveal to you one of our aces. These few years, we have had a sudden surge of talented trainees that quickly rose through the ranks and become full agents. The top brass have been extremely pleased by our young aces, they have performed really well. You've been away for a few weeks, so you haven't met them all yet, but you will, their around, somewhere, and I hope you become good friends. After all, you are one of our aces too."

Shizuru was stunned; she had only been gone for 3 weeks due to an injury to her arm and the agency has seemed to change. Teenagers, barely adults; were now out doing missions that usually people double their age were doing. Such madness!

"Are you sure that it's safe? What if they get hurt? Have their parents been notified? Is this even legal? Surely someone this young…"

Suddenly Shizuru felt the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped and she felt as if she was in the North Pole. She looked around and realized that the chair next to her was encased in a thick layer of ice, even her own chair seemed to be encased in a thin layer too.

The raven haired girl beside her was glaring at her with such anger and loathe that if looks could kill, she would have died. Shizuru gulped and was getting ready to summon her element, ready to fight such strong killing intent.

"Quit belittling us, what do you know about what we've been through?" The green eyed girl whispered angrily as she gripped the armrest tightly.

Even though she was faced with such a dangerous killing intent, Shizuru couldn't help but be awed by the bright green gleam from the young girl's eyes. _What beautiful eyes, I feel I can lose myself staring in them._

"Now, now Natsuki-chan, is that any way to treat your new partner?" Midori gently scolded the green eyed girl. The raven haired girl simply stood up and stomped out of the office. Shizuru could only watch as Natsuki exited the room and exhaled a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She shook her head at how nervous she was of the younger girl; she really thought that Natsuki was going to fight her. Midori laughed at how pale Shizuru was.

"Oh my, this is certainly a day full of surprises. I never thought I would see the day the ever calm and composed Fujino Shizuru so pale and nervous in front of a young girl. Though I have to say, young Natsuki is never honest about her feelings. Did you know? She was always curious about you, she would often ask about you. She made it seem like you had made quite an impression on her when she was younger, she would basically beam when we told her tales about you. I think you made her a wee bit upset that you simply saw her as a little girl."

Shizuru felt bad after hearing Midori's words. Natsuki liked her? She had met Natsuki before? Shizuru found that hard to believe, she could never forget a girl with such beautiful eyes.

"She really is amazing; she was at the top of her training class. Of course, she skipped a few years with her powers. She has powerful manipulation of water molecules, she can control ice you know, that's her power, her element if you must say. It really suits her perfectly. She's like an ice princess, cold and emotionless, though, she's not that bad. She just has trouble expressing herself."

Midori sighed before continuing.

"It's to be expected, her being one of the survivors of the First District Massacre, along with the other aces."

The mention of the First District Massacre made Shizuru's blood run cold. She was a new agent when it occurred. What happened on that day would forever be etched as one of the bloodiest attacks by the Obsidian Lord. Midori passed a folder to Shizuru and looked at her seriously.

"Now get out and make up with your new partner. I expect you two to be one of the best agents we've ever seen."

Shizuru found Natsuki sitting by the desk of two girls she had never seen before, a busty redhead who seemed to be Natsuki's age and a smaller girl with spiky black hair. They seemed to be teasing the green-eyed girl before noticing Shizuru walking over and turning to face her.

"Ara, I don't think I've met you two before. My name is Fujino Shizuru; it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise Fujino-sama, my name is Tokiha Mai and this is Mikoto."

The girl with spiky black hair nodded as she was introduced to Shizuru.

"Are these your friends Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, hoping to make up with the young girl. However Natsuki continued to ignore Shizuru, and Mai answered instead.

"Yes, we've known each other for a long time, back at the district."

"You are…" Shizuru still found it hard to believe that the smiling girl in front of her was a survivor of the First District Massacre.

"Yes, though, I don't really remember much of that event. I passed out rather quickly."

Mai admitted blushing and rubbing the back of her head. "Now, Natsuki…"

"Mai…" Natsuki growled loudly as the redhead continued to tell Shizuru about her past.

"Ah, sorry Natsuki. Fujino-sama, it was nice to meet you. We need to go now, come along Mikoto." Mai excused herself and pulled Mikoto with her leaving Natsuki alone with Shizuru. There was an awkward silence between them, Shizuru wondering what to say and Natsuki ignoring Shizuru. Natsuki got bored and attempted to walk away but was stopped by a hand on her own.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you Natsuki. Forgive me? I was just so surprised that someone as young as you could be a full agent, you must be pretty amazing."

Shizuru looked into Natsuki's face and was delighted to find a full-blown blush on her. _Ara, Natsuki looks very adorable with that blush on her face. I wonder what other expressions she can make._

"I forgive you, for now Fujino-san. Just…just don't bring it up anymore, okay?" Natsuki stuttered trying to pull her hand out Shizuru's grasp.

"Shizuru. Call me Shizuru, please? After all, we are going to be partners?"

"Fine."

"Say it."

"Sh…Shizuru."

Shizuru smiled brightly as Natsuki said her name. _It does feel good when she says my name, I like it. I think I'll enjoy this being around this cute partner of mine._

"Shizuru."

"Hm?"

"Let go of my hand."

"Oh, sorry."

Shizuru pulled back her hand and walked to her desk, well, it was once hers. It was now Natsuki's. She wondered if the green-eyed girl was willing to share. Unknown to her, Natsuki was looking at her hand and a smile graced her face.

To be continued.

A/N: So, did you like it? I hope you review so that I can know your opinion on it, reviews always make writers happy. Good ones I mean.^^


	3. Chapter 3

Even if the world is your enemy

Chapter 3: Memories of another life

A/N: Think of a Kannazuki no Miko/Mai Hime story. Also a reference to a death of Natsuki is from the manga/doujin End of Midsummer scanlated by Wings of Yuri.

"_I'm sorry Natsuki… I .."_

"_Don't speak Shizuru! That wound will get worse! Hold on!"_

"_I..I love you…Natsuki…."_

"_Shizuru…no! You can't leave me now…after all that we've gone through! I can't lose you!"_

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_Shizuru?"_

"…_."_

"_Shizuru!"_

"Shizuru!"

Natsuki woke up screaming from her sleep with tears in her eyes. She felt disoriented, not knowing where she was or who she was. She tried to wipe her tears but it kept flowing, the sadness of losing Shizuru still taking control of her body. She laid back on her bed, willing the tears to subside. She told herself over and over again, 'its just a dream, its just a dream' but she knew it was a lie. She had lost Shizuru once and it wasn't the only time. Shizuru had died for her and she had too, in another lifetime.

Her tears finally subsided, leaving dry trails of tears that felt sticky on her face. The dream she had was a memory of what had happened in a past life. She had had dreams like this before. In one dream, she died abruptly, her body disappearing in a trail of green sparkles when Shizuru's Kiyohime was defeated. Shizuru died soon after when she drank a bottle of poison. She cried after waking up and was sullen for days recalling the lifetime.

Natsuki balled her hands into a tight grip, so tight that her nails pushed into her skin and started bleeding. She stared at her hands as the blood dripped down onto her pyjamas.

"I've finally found you in this life Shizuru…I won't let you get hurt this time even if it means that I'll become a devil. I'll protect you. I love you so much."

Ever since Natsuki was a child she knew she was special. She had dreams of a girl with crimson eyes. In one dream the crimson eyed girl would tease her and would support her secretly using a large purple monster. In another they would fight together as soldiers in a war using ancient robot weapons. In every dream, they would fall in love and inevitably one of them dies. It was an endless torture that they could not escape and she hated the fact that the two girls in her dreams could never have a happy ending. By the time she was a teenager, she knew the dreams were not merely dreams but were memories of past lives. She vowed to find Shizuru and find a way to save her from the cruel fate.

Her powers had awakened early in this life and she mastered them quickly to use them to her advantage. She anticipated that First District would approach her and she followed them obediently, even as it pained her to cause sadness to her mother who was very reluctant to allow Natsuki to be taken. When they least expected it, she killed all of the occupants of the First District and caused massive destruction. She managed to save some other girls who were imprisoned there and they were all 'saved' by the agency. The agency thought the incident was caused by the Obsidian Lord, so Natsuki was agreed to join when she heard that Shizuru was also working there. She was very overjoyed to know that she could finally meet Shizuru.

However, Natsuki forgot one important detail. In this life, Shizuru didn't know her. This Shizuru didn't seem to retain her memory from their past life. The comments that Shizuru made towards Natsuki hurt Natsuki immensely.

Natsuki sulked at the fact that Shizuru didn't remember and that she was the only one who had been tortured by nightmares. It was hard for the young girl, to be plagued by the dreams. It was as if there were many Natsuki's in a child's body. So many memories conflicted in the young child's mind making it hard for her to remember which one was real and which were only memories. One could say, it was driving Natsuki to madness.


	4. Chapter 4

Even if the world is your enemy

Chapter 4: Are you lonely?

The next few days were relatively peaceful for the agency as there were only small sorties involving orphans attacking parks and shopping malls. The agents were sent to neutralize the threat and no serious injuries were sustained. These incidents allowed Shizuru chances to see her new partner in action. She was awed at how efficient and swift the younger girl was at exterminating her enemies with quick shots of her elemental guns. Sometimes it wasn't even necessary for Shizuru to be there, Natsuki dominated the field with her swiftness and agility.

_Wow, she's really good. No wonder they call her a genius._

Shizuru and Natsuki had just returned from a sortie and were in the shower room when a thought passed through Shizuru's mind. She turned to see the younger girl who was in the process of taking off her shirt and examined the girl's face. _I wonder how Natsuki spends her free time._

Natsuki could feel somebody staring at her and looked up to see Shizuru looking at her with a smile. She felt rather self-conscious and quickly covered her body with her shirt.

"W…What?"

"Ne Natsuki…what do you do after work?

"Sleep?"

"That's all?"

"Should I be doing something else?"

"That's a bit boring."

"…"

Natsuki clutched her shirt tightly and pondered how she should respond. Should she act angry or tell Shizuru the truth? That she was burdened by nightmares and memories of the past that left her tired because she kept waking up in the middle of the night. Natsuki slept early in hopes to get sufficient rest before the nightmares came.

"Are you angry? I didn't mean to insult you…"

"…"

"It's just that…I seldom see you talking to anyone except Mai and Mikoto. How are you adapting to living alone? I know you used to live at the academy and it was rather lively there but now you're living alone at the dorms. Are you lonely?"

"I…"

"You are?"

Shizuru moved to Natsuki's side and surprised Natsuki by giving her a tight hug. She stiffened briefly before relaxing into the older girl's embrace._ Shizuru's hugging me…I'm so happy!_

_The poor girl, she's suffered so much after the First District her family and now all alone at the dorm._

"How about you move in with me? I live alone and have an extra room at my apartment."

"I won't be disturbing you? What if you need private time with your …" Natsuki swallowed hard at this, she really wanted to know if Shizuru was single. "boyfriend?"

"Pssh, I don't have one. Men, who needs them? Pssh, not me…" Shizuru blushed at this, a bit embarrassed at discussing her love life with her younger, more naïve (Well, she thinks Natsuki is) partner.

"Are your sure? You barely know me, Shizuru." Inwardly, Natsuki is overjoyed at this. _Yessss! I can spend time with Shizuru!_

"Then this is a good time to get to know you. We'll be so close, people might call us sisters."

"Do I have to call you onee-sama then?"

"Um, don't. You'll make me feel old."

"Why not, onee-sama?" teased Natsuki. "We're gonna be sisters aren't we? or perhaps you'd like us to be closer in another way then?" purred Natsuki dropping her shirt and pressing her body a bit closer to Shizuru.

"Eh?"

Shizuru blushed seeing Natsuki's bra clad body so close and quickly averted her eyes. _What a nice body…_and quickly stopped her thoughts from going in that direction. _Just what was that, She's a bit young for me! And..and she's my partner too…_

Natsuki smirked happily realizing Shizuru was affected by her actions. _It seems that I might have a chance after all, a bit more pushing might be beneficial._

"Then, I'll start packing tonight and tomorrow I'll bring my stuff to your place. Is that alright?"

"Yes."

Natsuki gave Shizuru a brief hug before pulling back and smiling brightly.

"Thank you, Shizuru."

The sight of a smiling Natsuki made Shizuru swoon.

_Wow, Natsuki's so cute when she smiles. I've never seen her smile like this. I want to see her smile more often._

To be continued


End file.
